In household refrigerators it is common to have a dairy compartment for the storage of food items such as butter and cheeses. The dairy compartment is usually positioned on the inside of the fresh food compartment door and in most cases is molded into the vacuum formed inner door plastic panel. Because the inner door plastic panel is vacuum formed the depth of the dairy compartment is limited to the draw ratios associated with vacuum forming processes. That is, because the inner door plastic panel is vacuum formed the depth of the dairy compartment is quite restricted relative to the thickness of the plastic sheet being formed. It is also common to have a cover over the dairy compartment which may be closed to prevent air flow across the stored food items and opened to gain access to the items stored in the compartment. Heretofore, the ends of the rotatable cover have been pivotally mounted on support pins molded into the ends of the doors that project through holes in the inner door plastic panel. It has been found, however, that due to the repeated rotation of the dairy compartment door that the thin inner door plastic panel tends to wear in that area which detrimentally affects the inner door panel and the operation of the rotatable dairy compartment cover.
It is desirable to have the dairy compartment of a refrigerator much deeper in depth than the limits dictated by vacuum forming process to thereby afford greater storage space within the container. It is also desirable to have the cover of the dairy compartment not pivot on the surface of the inner door plastic panel, which is quite thin and can result in deformation. By this invention both of these desirable attributes may be accomplished.